Lamar Smith plays Scrabble with the administration

Rep. Lamar Smith has had enough word play by the Obama administration, and rebuked the executive branch in a tirade about image over substance on national security.

Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, blew his top, so to speak, when he found out that the administration instructed officials to replace the term “Global War on Terror” with “Overseas Contingency Operation.”

The San Antonio lawmaker was also bent out of shape over Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s reference to terrorist attacks as “man-caused disasters,” and the Justice Department decision to refrain from calling Guantanamo Bay detainees “enemy combatants.”

“Why not call the Mexican drug cartels ‘recreational pharmacists?’ We can start referring to North Korea as a ‘gated community.’ Or how about calling terrorist training camps ‘desert day spas?’ ” Smith asked rhetorically.

“It’s almost as ridiculous as Iran calling its drive for a nuclear weapon a ‘civilian energy project.’ This unfortunately is another example of this administration choosing image over substance,” Smith huffed.